Cursed Immortals
by daydreamerfitz
Summary: Their adventure near its end Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and Piplup head towards one last event before parting ways. When they wander off the path into a uncharted village, they discover a dark history, that could be coming for them. T to be safe. SatoHika
1. Prologue

My first multi-chapter fanfic, and it's Pearlshipping. Yay! Well, later on, this is just the prologue. I'm hoping to have a darker perspective. There is mystery, romance, humour, and the supernatural. I also have it posted on deviantart. Well, enough rambling.

Constructive criticism is welcome, comments more-so. I'd love to know opinions just to know that the story is working out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

In a large pond the moon's reflection shone brightly. In the dark night it cast is faint glow on the earth below. Its light fell on a garden. The garden was wild; the vegetation grew haphazardly over terraces and stone pathways. Vines wrapped tightly around ruined stone columns. The pond was large, with an impressive bowled fountain in the middle.

A girl sat on the ponds edge. Her dark hair hid her face. Her clothes were worn. She gently glided her hand across the waters surface. Lost in thought, she took no notice of the faint cries of various Pokémon in the surrounding growth.

A sudden rustle in the bushes behind the girl caused her to look up, startled. She calmed seeing a boy, strong build and slightly older looking, appear from the bushes. He approached her only to stop and look passively at the object held in the girl's dry hand.

"Miss him?" The boy asked softly, looking at her face again. The girl looked down at the tattered and worn teddy bear that she held. She sighed softly. The boy continued, "Might as well be your's now. He's too old for it."

"It's a memory. That makes it valuable. And it was always his, so it should stay his," she responded.

"If you say so." The boy looked away, as though lost in thought. They fell silent, deep in thought. In the distance a Noctowl hooted in the night.  
"I remember when I gave this to him…" The girl looked at the bear fondly, her eyes glazed over at the memory. "He was so happy. He hugged me tightly and told me he loved me and laughed merrily."

The boy cocked his head in an amused manner. "I remember," he smirked. "I walked in and laughed at him for being childish. He then started pouting like a child, which caused me to laugh harder." A slight chuckle escaped him.

The girl looked at him and smiled slyly. "You miss him, too," she observed.

"Maybe." The girl scoffed at his indifference. "Not too much. Perhaps this interesting piece of news might change that though. I think you will like it." He teased. The girl looked at him expectantly.

She waited in silence as the night darkened. Dark clouds began covering the moon and the shadows around them grew. The air seemed to grow colder as the lightness of their conversation faded. The change went unnoticed by both, however, the girl quickly grew bored.

"I truly believe you delight in teasing me!" She said, agitated.

"Dear Sister! I'm surprised you only realise this now," he replied cheekily and smiled. With a huff his sister stood and began walking away through the untamed garden.

"We'll continue this conversation when you've grown up!" she told him coolly over her shoulder. Her brother's grin grew, and she glared. She continued walking until her suddenly spoke.

"He's coming."

The girl stopped abruptly and looked back surprised.

Her brother watched her, all manner of joking gone from his face. He watched as she unconsciously took that old teddy bear in both hands and held it tightly. "He's coming back?" She muttered in disbelieve, or shock, he didn't know.

The older boy approached her and held her close, comforting her. "That's right."

"When? How…?" She looked at him expectantly.

"I went to check on him, and saw that he was near." He hesitated before continuing. "There are others with him. They… they're not like us." He sounded worried.

The girl scoffed. "I wouldn't think so. But you're sure he'll come? Not with those with him, right?" She was getting worried, too. "That would be careless of him. He'd know better."

"You mother him too much, sister. We'll see how things turn out. He will be sensible, I'm sure." It seemed he was trying to convince himself more than her. She quickly let go of him and returned to her walk. She headed a large stone structure deeper in the 'wilderness'. Her brother followed her, confused.

"Where are you going?"

She turned to face him and he was surprised to see her smiling expectantly. "I'm going to prepare for his visit. I've got to get his room ready; he's been away for so long."

They entered the stone structure through a large set of oak doors, into an old large hall. The boy stopped in the middle, unsure of his sister's strange mood change. As though sensing his unease, his sister turned to him again, before hurrying to her tasks.

"Don't be so worried, brother. After all, our little brother is coming home."


	2. Lost

**I am so sorry it's so late. Well, it was summer, and I was away, and doing the whole family visits, rewriting this chapter, and parties ,etc. But enough of my excuses. I have the first chapter here officially ready.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Just the people I made up. They are mine.**

**Also thanks to Shadowman 747 and pealrgirl720 for reviewing, and to those who faved. ^-^**

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

(Pokémon speech translated)

* * *

_Chapter 1. Lost._

"So we're not lost, huh?"

Today we find our heroes, and protagonists of this story, in a calm, lush forest clearing, seated among fresh blooms and chirping Starly; their Pokémon settling down for a rest; and their trainers looking around bemused. Oh, yes, and lost… Definitely lost.

"Hm." The eldest hero, Brock, hummed thoughtfully to himself while studying the map before him. This seventeen year olds ambition was to become a Pokémon breeder, and was the reliable 'older brother' of the group. "Um, I think we're lost." Well, he's normally reliable.

Four aggravated and deadpanned faces turned towards the breeder. Two belonged to his fellow trainers; the other two, their Pokémon partners.

The trainers names were Ash and Dawn.

Ash is the lovably naïve and usually reckless sixteen year old Pokémon trainer. His goal is to become a Pokémon Master, along with his faithful partner Pikachu.

Dawn, the fifteen female trainer of the group, aspires to become a top coordinator. Beside her, looking as annoyed as his trainer, stood her prideful partner Piplup.

Brock chuckled nervously under their gaze and began fumbling for a solution to their current predicament. "If we just retrace our steps I'm sure we'll get back on the path." He turned away to find a way back onto the marked path. His companions just sighed and looked away, examining their surroundings.

As stated before, the gang were lost in a large forest. This was an incredibly large forest with beautiful, lush trees and large assortments of wild flowers, and the hustle and bustle of the many bug, grass, and other forestland Pokémon was evident through the trees. It should also be made aware that the forest, being so big and expanse, was never successfully navigated and as such remained uncharted on the breeders map. Brock himself slowly came to the realisation that they would be awhile in finding their way back.

Pikachu curled up in the grass beside his trainer, and Piplup sat comfortably on the coordinators lap, both with the intent of falling asleep. Ash and Dawn contented themselves with watching several Bellosom dance through the flowers while several Burmy swing from tree to tree. They left Brock to sort things out.

* * *

Unbeknownst to our heroes, hidden among the bushes behind them, three shadowy figures looked on at the teenagers and their Pokémon.

"There they are," one shadow spoke in a sneaky, gleeful tone. It was certainly a woman's voice.

"Considering we followed them here, it shouldn't be too surprising," Another shadow stated bluntly. His voice marked him as male.

"Quiet James! This is our chance," The woman retorted. "Those twerps are just sitting there just asking us to come and take there Pokémon."

"Ya got dat right," The shadow said. "Just imagine how pleased da boss will be when we haul in day shipload of Pokémon. We'll fly in like supa' heroes in this baby, and da boss'll say…"

[Cue (disturbing) dream sequence]

A man in an orange tuxedo stand aloof on the patio of a pristine white mansion with an large elegant cat sitting by his leg. He looks up as a shadow falls across the whole patio. His face changes from panicked surprise to gleeful anticipation as a net explodes on the patio and many happy Pokémon suddenly stand before him. His name is Giovanni, the boss-man of the criminal organisation called Team Rocket.

He gestures towards the shadow that dropped the net and proclaims in a voice that sounds oddly like the third shadow. "Meowth and his friends have brought me so many powerful Pokémon that I'll just have to reward them greatly and give them a big promotion."

[End sequence]

The shadows huddled together, coming into the light. The larger shadows were that of a man with lavender shoulder-length hair and a woman with long arched magenta hair - both wearing a white uniform with a red 'R' on it and black boots and gloves. The third smaller figure was a small cream cat with a long gold coin on its forehead and brown paws. All of them were snickering suspiciously.

The man, James, was the first to stop snickering, as he looked up in realisation. With a look of sheer embarrassment he interrupted the others. "Um, Jessie? Just how _are_ we going to capture those Pokemon if our new capture robot crashed?"

Behind them was a mass of scrap metal, smoke and a torn hang-glide sail. The trees certainly weren't in much better shape either.

Jessie scowled. "Don't ruin the moment James!"

Meowth just chuckled. With a smirk he pulled out a small metal box with a big red button on it. "No worries," he snickered evilly, "Now _this_ they won't see comin'!

* * *

"Uncharted territory?"

"Yep."

"No sure way back?"

"Yep."

"Piplup pip? (Too late to start looking?)"

"Uh…"

"Pika pi pika, chu? (We're not getting out of here anytime soon, are we?)"

"…Um, yeah?"

The gang stood before Brock was enduring their interrogative stare, before they all sighed in defeat. He told them their situation, deciding it was better to tell now, then figure it out after they got more lost. It was already getting dark and that wasn't going to help.

Ash looked up. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, whatever we do, we should do it soon. It's getting late," Dawn noted, looking at the setting sun.

"Hmm," Brock held his chin in thought. He then snapped his fingers as a plan came to mind. "I got it. Why don't we send up one of our flying Pokemon to look around for a pathway back to the main route?"

His sound plan got the desired effect. Dawn turned to Ash with a broad smile on her face. "That's a great idea. Ash, you should send up Staraptor and I'll send up Togekiss. With both of our Pokemon looking it'll take half the time to find the back!"

"Great idea Dawn." Ash returns the smile, while pumping his fist. Dawn blushed at his compliment.

With their next course of action decided, Brock nodded to the two, "Now that that's settled we should send them on their way before it gets too dark."

Despite the reasonable logic Ash looked slyly at Brock and teasingly remarked, "What? You worried Team Rocket will show up and stop us?"

Suddenly a wild wind kicked up from the forest. Ash and Dawn had to hold onto both partners and hats to stop both from flying away among twigs, leaves and debris. Brock, himself, had fallen to the ground and used his arms as a shield against natures barrage.

Above the blustering winds came three insidious and very familiar laughs.

Dawn glared at Ash. "You just had to jinx it!"

From above the treetops a large metal man hovered into the clearing. It was slate grey and was quite an unusual appearance for villains such as these. It rounded rectangular head with a glass line across it that resembled a mask. The main body was a metallic boulder. The arms and legs were a similar grey but the hands and feet appeared to be wearing red gloves and boots. The legs attachment to the torso looked shamefully like underwear.

In short it looked like Ironman had let himself go, borrowed Batman's gloves and boots and repainted it all in the dark. The massive red 'R' on the robots chest was the mark of the fools who created this monstrosity.

"Speak of the devils." Brock deadpanned.

"Listen, is that the sound of incompetence I hear?"

"It speaks to me loud and clear"

"On the wind,"

"Past the stars,"

"In your ear."

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."

"Dashing all hope, putting fear in its place,"

"A rose by any other names smell just as sweet,"

"When everything's worse our work is complete,"

"Jesse!"

"James"

"Meowth! That's a name!"

"Team Rocket circle the world day and night,"

"Surrender to us now or prepare to fight."

The wind from the robots thrusters subsided and the gang took a battle stance. Each trainer reached for a Pokéball, ready to defend themselves.

"Team Rocket!" they exclaimed.

"Pika!/ Piplup!"

Jessie laughed. "That's right twerps! We're here to steal your Pokémon."

"How'd you find us?!" Dawn angrily retorted. This was not what they needed right now.

Jessie answered for her team again. "We followed you, obviously. How else would we find such a perfect opportunity to attack, if we weren't nearby?2

'_That's creepy!_' Dawn thought. In her obvious disgust she retorted, "Stalker much?!"

"Pip pip piplup!"

Jessie, it should be mentioned, was not only a self-absorbed and obsessive thief, but she was also incredibly indignant. It is advisable to never mock, insult, tease or in anyway belittle such a shrill and ill-tempered woman as this. The reaction that followed should demonstrate why.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I, THE BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, SOPHISTICATED WOMAN THAT I AM, COULD BE NOTHING MORE THAN A LOW-RATE, LIFE-LACKING, DESPERATE STALKER!?"

A deathly silence hung over the clearing. Each pair of eyes were focused on Jessie's red, steaming face. Pikachu and Piplup stood behind their trainers, shivering in fright. James and Meowth weren't faring any better, both were cowering behind their seats within the robots control booth.

Ash, Dawn and Brock appeared to be only frozen in a minor state of shock. They shook it off, braced against the expected attack, that Dawn's mumbled next words were due to provoke. "Not that pretty." The effect was imminent.

"THAT IS IT! We'll do away with that twerps girlfriend! PREPARE THE BLASTERS!" The giant robots arms rose with its fists directed at poor Dawn, who yelped in fright. "FIRE!"

Due to the tension and probable inevitable doom, Ash had knocked Dawn down out of the line of fire, and Brock stood behind them with Pikachu and Piplup in his arms, all awaiting the blast.

…

…

…

… That never came?

"Uh, Jessie?"

"WHAT?!" Jessie glared at the shaken cat behind her.

"Da robot still hasta finish chargin'," Meowth muttered.

"Well, finish it!" Jessie screamed. Had her vision been on the controls instead of the cat Pokémon, Jessie would have noticed a big flash of red light, and the sudden beep that came with it. It was James, who had yet to contribute to the 'gathering', who pointed this out.

"One problem with that," James directed their attention to said controls. His company stared dumbly at a screen indicating a sparking faulty wire next to a small brown stream marked 'fuel'. An unanimous 'uh-oh' sounded through the clearing, followed by a bang, a blast and a plume of smoke.

"We're blasting of again!"

Unfortunately it wasn't only Team Rocket sent flying. Having been next to the blast, as well as the embarrassing confrontation, Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, Piplup and Brock were sent soaring above the trees, deeper into the forest.

"AAGH!/ PIKA!/ PIPLIP!"

Their landing was less than comfortable and the gang found themselves in a heap on top of each other and many broken branches. The strange part was the fact that there was someone else there.

"Are you alright?"


	3. Discombobulation and Her

**Thank you to everyone who has read and liked my story. I'm so happy that its turning out so well, and I'm sorry for the long intrvals between the chapters. Biggest school exams of my life are in a few months so it may stay like that for a while but I'll try not to disappoint.**

**Also I don't like this chapter as much as the first two or the one coming next but it's a neccessary evil, as it will eventually set the scene. ^-^'**

"Normal talking"

'Quoting/thinking'

"Pika pi (Pokétalk Translastions)"

_Discaimer: I don't own, nor have I ever owned, Pokémon. I only own my OCs that will show up._

* * *

Looking up, the now twig infested heroes turn to the strange voice from nowhere. Well, actually somewhere, or better yet someone. That someone was a young girl looking down at them. They decided then that what was strange about here was the fact that her deep emerald eyes were glowing.

"I repeat, 'Are you alright?'"

The gang remained staring at the girl that had seemingly just appeared before them out of thin nowhere. She had black hair with purple streaked highlights, which matched the purple shoulder-less t-shirt she wore and the black tank top covering it. She wore a short black pleated skirt, white knee high socks and black small heeled pumps. The only contrast to her appearance were the still glowing eyes.

"Uh… hello?" The girl watched as the fallen teenagers and Pokémon before her stared, unnerving her. They appeared oblivious to the rather awkward position they were putting her in.

Dawn was the first to wake from her stupor. She smiled, hesitantly. "Um… hi."

"Looks like you had a nasty fall." The girl smiled. Finally, a reaction, sort of.

This comment, at least, got a bigger reaction, as Ash, Brock and the Pokémon also woke from their daze. They, along with Dawn looked over each other, and themselves. The girl had a point. They were covered in scrapes and bruises from the blast from Team Rockets defective robot as well as their crash landing. There were bits of twigs and leaves sticking out from their hair and clothes. Ash's cap had fallen off and was now giving Pikachu and edgy look. Piplup was laying on its back, unconscious, under Brock's foot. Poor thing!

"Ya know, you still didn't answer my question." Their attention was back on the stranger who seemed bemused by their reaction.

This time Ash spoke up. "What question?"

The girl only rolled her eyes. "Are. You. Lot. _Alright_?" She said, putting emphasis on the alright part. Despite the degrading statement, she managed to sound incredibly concerned. The answer she received however was not what she was expecting…

… For Brock had bolted up onto his knee, holding a hand to his heart while caressing the her hand. "We are now that you have descended upon us, oh dark beauty. You, an angel, appears to us in a tragic time of need. Please, allow me to repay your kindness. Allow me to repay your kindness with my lo-," The declaration of love from the breeder was cut short by a rather unpleasantly placed Poison Jab from Brock's faithful Croagunk, an indigo frog that stood on two legs, with orange sacks on its face, and black and orange 'hands'. "Love you too, Croagunk." Brock mumbled painfully as his froggy friend dragged him way.

"That was… sweet." The girl watched the breeder and frog leave. An awkward silence hung in the air.

"It happens a lot." Ash clarified, while rubbing his head sheepishly. Being lost in the middle of nowhere and then accidentally finding someone who could help, only to botch it by scaring them away wouldn't help them. Oh, that's right! "Hey, do you know where we are?" Ash asked the girl.

"In a forest?" she replied with a smile. Dawn, who was trying to wake up her partner, sweat dropped at this.

"What my friend means is, we're lost _in this forest_ and we don't know how to get out. And now we're even more lost after landing here." Dawn explained. She then turned her attention to her now semi-conscious Pokémon who wasn't exactly on steady footing.

"Is that what happened? Well, I can help you out but I think we'll need to patch you up first."

Ash stood up as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. "Great idea. Careful Pikachu, that hurt." He winced before seeing the mouse still had his hat.

"Pika. (Sorry)"

"Well, that answers my question. Finally!" The girl giggled.

Ash, seeing as Piplup had finally woken, helped Dawn to her feet. Sporting a small blush Dawn thanked Ash, before thinking about what the girl said. "Wait a sec. What did you mean '_go' _get patched up? Do you have a camp nearby, or something?"

"She's got a point."

"Eeep!" The girl jumped seeing the breeder appear behind her.

"That's normal for him." Ash said sheepishly.

"No… no problem." She clutched her heart and let out a sigh. "Well, I don't have a camp nearby. No need. I live in the village just a little ways from here. There's a small inn there where you can get any treatment you need if your hurt, or sick, or if you need a place to stay. It's pretty modest but it'll do the trick for you and your Pokémon."

The gang stood in shock. Understandable, considering the fact that the map not only told them they were lost without navigation, but that it showed no settlement in the forest.

"There's a village nearby?" Dawn asked incredulously.

"Yep. If that answers all your questions why don't we head off, then?"

"I got a question." Ash said with a grim expression. Suddenly a deep and loud grumble erupted from the boy. "When we get there can we eat?"

Everyone laughed at the hungry trainer who was now rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Aww, cute! Sure we can fill you up when we get there." The girl turned around and waved at them to follow. "The village is this way."

The boys and Pikachu followed, Brock trying to chat the girl up. However Dawn just stood there holding Piplup, a contemplating look on her face, staring at the girl as she left. Piplup looked up at its trainer in concern when she didn't move.

"Lup. (Dawn?)

Dawn snapped out of her thoughts when Ash called to her. "Come on, Dawn. Don't wanna get lost again, do ya?"

"Coming, Ash!"

* * *

"Here we are!"

The four teens and two partners stood looking at a unique looking village, to say the least. Where they stood seemed to be a wide cobblestone path towards a town square or courtyard. Along the path were many houses, two-story and made out of wood and stone, in a medieval fashion. At the other end of the square was a larger building, four times the size of the houses and the structure was more intricate then the surrounding buildings. To its right was another large building with a sign saying 'Inn' above the door.

As the group approached the inn they passed through the square and stopped. In the centre of the square were three stone statues covered in ivy. The fine features themselves were indistinguishable beneath the growth the sheer majesty of the statues brought awe-struck stares from the travellers. Large appendages protruded from them the back of the statues appeared to be angel wings. Two of the figures could have been boys, the other a girl and judging from the different heights, they were each meant to represent a different age.

The amazement on the heroes faces was unmistakeable.

"They're beautiful." The whisper barely escaped Dawn's lips. Piplup craned his neck trying to see the whole of the statues.

Brock was fascinated by the female sculpture. Though it was with respect and wonder.

Ash stood behind them, his gaze on all three. Pikachu sat perched on his shoulder, his mouth agape.

Their entranced state was broken when their new companion spoke to them, albeit impatiently. "They won't go anywhere. So, come on. Don't you lot have to heal up and eat." Her reply was a chorus Ash's and Dawn's stomachs, and the everyone else's embarrassment.

They tore their gaze from the statues and they walked into the inn but not before looking back once more.

* * *

"Cha!" Pikachu squealed in delight as he licked the ketchup bottle. A sight which had the girls cooing.

"That is so cute." The new girl's squeal matching that of the Pokémon.

"Isn't he just!?" Dawn cooed in delight.

They were currently sitting down in the dinning area of the inn. The girls had stopped eating to watch Pikachu with his ketchup, and coincidently, his trainer wolfing down massive helpings of stew and sandwiches. Brock sat next to him sipping away at his soup, unperturbed by their antics. Piplup was steaming next to his trainer having failed at gaining the same attention the yellow mouse got.

"Aww, how long has this little guy been with you?"

Ash looked up from his plate and wiped his mouth, fork still in hand.

"Pikachu and I have been partners since I started my journey.. Right, buddy?"

"Pika! (Yup)"

"And we've come a long way since then. We had loads of adventures and made lots of friends as well."

"Aww, that's so sweet, um…"

"My names Ash."

"Okay, Ash. So how'd you lot meet Ash and Pikachu?" Green eyes turned to the others.

Brock spoke of first. "Ash won his first league badge from me."

Said green eyes sparkled. "So that means you're a gym leader. Um, name?"

"Brock."

"Brock. Too cool! That means you're a really strong trainer then, yeah?"

Brock just smirked. "Actually, I want to be a Pokémon breeder."

"Oh wow! Such an inspiring goal. But since you were a gym leader, then that must mean that Ash is a league trainer, right?"

Ash gave her a confident smile. "You bet!"

The girl turned to face Ash, and spoke smoothly. "I bet? Hm, I bet you're really string."

"Wanna put money on that?" Ash joked. Apparently he had no idea what she meant. Dawn mentally cringed, having caught the hint, and scowled.

Ash looked at Dawn, concerned. "You okay, Dawn?"

Caught off guard, Dawn blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry."

'That's when I worry the most." Ash thought.

"So, _Dawn _was it? What do you do? Or do you just Ash and Brock and Pikachu?" the mysterious girl asked Dawn, slightly mocking.

"I'm a coordinator." Dawn declared proudly.

"What's that?" Dawn scowled again, this time in indignation.

"It means that I enter contests and show off my Pokémon's appeal and moves to win ribbons. If I get five ribbons I can enter the Grand Festival, but I've already done that here in Sinnoh. I came second in the festival and now I'm just travelling with Ash and Brock, enjoying it before we go our separate ways. Except then we got lost"

"And then I came and helped you lot. Wow, that sounds pretty big. You'll have to show me how it works."

"Um, okay?" Not the reaction she was expecting.

"And as for you, Ash. You have to show me how strong a trainer you are, 'kay?" Her attention went back to the ebony haired trainer.

Ash himself had just finished his food. "Sure. Why not?"

"Well, I'd better head off. Nice meeting you lot." Their new friend stood up and faced them, beaming. "Hope you decide to stay a while. I'm holding you to that, Ash. See ya around." With that she walked out of the inn.

Only when she was gone did Brock realise something. Turning back to his friends he said, "Did any of you catch her name?"

* * *

**So... Yeah, whatcha think? Not too bad, right? I'd love it if you'd let me know if I'm doing this right.**

**Reviews give me motivation and love. Criticism is welcome, too, so long as it helps.**

**See you lot next chapter.**


	4. Walk in the Shadows

**Here's a new chapter, and it's my favourite one by far. So I hope you all like it, too. This one is a bit darker, but hopefully it works.**

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and faved! I really appreciate it. And I would love it if you kept reading, and enjoying my story.**

**Disclaimer: daydreamerfitz does not own Pokémon (except for copies of the games, movies and other commercial products.) I do own my own characters i.e. mystery girl and anyone else that I say is mine. ^-^**

"Human speech"

'Human thought'

**Enjoy :-)**

* * *

Night had fallen on the peaceful village. The gang had rented out a room in the inn for their stay. The room was modest, with three simple beds against one wall, with a desk and door to their bathroom against the other. There was also a balcony overlooking the square which, thanks to the lake of street lights, had a clear view of the starry skies as well.

It was on this balcony where Ash now stood, gazing up at the bright twinkling lights. He seemed at peace. Pikachu sat on the rails, content with the feel of the fresh forest breeze.

In the room Brock was sorting through his bag with Croagunk watching him, the purple toxic frog Pokémon croaking and impassive as ever. He was quietly humming a little tune while checking to see if he had enough supplies before they left.

Dawn emerged from the bathroom changed into her bedclothes, her little penguin Pokémon waddling out behind her. She collapsed on the bed, sighing. She thought back to the day's event and their new friend.

"She was weird!" Dawn commented, startling the boys.

Brock looked up at her, confused. "Who are you talking about?"

"That girl today. Just there's something off about her, ya know? She just showed up and we don't even know her name or anything." Piplup looked at his trainer curiously.

"We know she wants to know about contests and that she wants to see Ash battle," Brock smirked. Dawn scowled which made him laugh. "We can ask her more tomorrow. We'll probably run into her again."

Dawn was silent again. She thought back to those statues in the square. There was something about them. So beautiful but also… ominous. It was strange that there would be angle statues in such a public place with no other obvious relevance to them anywhere else. "Do you think she could tell us more about those statues?"

"Maybe." Ash had kept watch on the stars when he joined in. He stepped back inside and closed the door as Pikachu filed in behind him. "She did say she lived here, and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else around for her to stay, so she must know something, right?" He gave Dawn a reassuring smile. She blushed and nodded, seeing the sense of what Ash said.

"Can we take another look tomorrow, then?" She pleaded.

"Hey, we should explore the village tomorrow," Ash proclaimed. They both turned to Brock expectantly.

He nodded, which made them happy. "Tomorrow, then." He said in agreement. He got up and returned Croagunk to his Pokéball. "For now let's get some rest. It's been a long day and I think we're all a little tired." On cue both remaining partners yawned.

Everyone agreed and went to bed.

* * *

Faint streams of moonlight shone through the curtains and danced across Dawn's face. Her eyes fluttered open, still heavy with sleep.

With a small groan she sat up and looked around groggily. She was having trouble sleeping. The intrusive moonlight wasn't helping any. From the sounds of her friends' peaceful forms they obviously didn't have the same problem. Ash's snores attested to that.

Quietly pulling off her covers she dragged her tired body to the bathroom. Washed and now awake, Dawn gently slid the balcony door open and tiptoed out to the rail, briefly looking over her shoulder at the sleeping forms behind her. Satisfied that she hadn't disturbed anyone Dawn gazed down at the square where the three ivy-covered statues till stood.

Dawn couldn't help but admire the figures. They stood tall and proud, with their stone wings held high. The ivy constricting them gave the impression that the statues were aged. She couldn't stop herself from wondering why they were there. Were they guardian angels of the village? Or were they heroes that were honoured with these structures? 'Did they even live in this village? Who were they?'

Dawn startled. Her musings were interrupted by a slight movement in the corner of her eye. Alert, she scanned the area that caught her attention.

The shadows moved. In the moonlight a dark figure emerged. It had wandered over to one of the statues, barely visible, as the moons light dimmed.

Dawn's breath caught in her throat. The figure looked at her. Time froze. The two remained locked in each others gaze, but Dawn couldn't see the person's face.

After a lifetime the figure broke the stare and looked up to the sky. Confused, Dawn mimicked them to see the moon reveal itself, its light shining down onto the square once again. Looking down again the shadowed wanderer had disappeared.

Only in her surprise did she realise she wasn't breathing. She gasped her heart racing. 'What was that?!'

The moment she settled down, a determined expression crossed her face.

She crept back into the bedroom where the others were still asleep, unaware of the night's activity. She quietly slipped on her pink boots, and crept out of the room, before exiting the building.

* * *

Now standing among the angels, Dawn looked around for whoever had been there only minutes ago.

There was no sign of any living being having here other than herself. The world was still around her and life and time were frozen for the moment.

Scowling in frustration she turned to face the statue that the shadow had been looking at.

In the moonlight the stone monument looked almost sinister. Gone was the innocent wonder that came to Dawn as she gazed upon it. A hazy ghostly glow outlined the angel giving it an ominous aura. The vines grew wild around it. Choking it. It was the smallest of the angels. The statues hair was long and wild, hiding most of his face and casting a deep shadow across it. Though no eyes were visible Dawn could almost feel the angels gaze bore into her. The torso was bare, covered in what could have been scars or erosion, thought the effect was the same. The image of a survivor. He leg wear looked tattered, revealing toned muscles.

What really struck Dawn were the wings. Before, during the day, she thought the figures looked heavenly with their stone appendages. Now the wings rose high above her, dark, casting a shadow below. The dark wings loomed over the angels, over Dawn. 'They're like dark angels.'

A chilling breeze suddenly swept by Dawn's face, blowing dirt into her eyes. Rubbing her now sore eyes Dawn's gaze fell away from the foreboding stones to the forest. And there stood the figure from before.

'There they are!' Broken away from her trance, Dawn sprinted after the figure.

As Dawn ran she saw the figure enter the forest on the outskirts of the village. Keeping within the shadows she followed it.

As she entered she felt the warmth of her body leave her. The sudden sensation caught her off guard and she lost her balance. Stumbling through the branches she failed to notice the obstacles before her. She tripped over a tree root, getting swiped by more branches on the way.

With a groan Dawn picked herself up and found that she had lost the wanderer, again! 'They're gone. What now?' She looked around and found that somewhere in the stumbling and tripping and swiping she had lost track of the way back. "Oh no!"

In a panic she scrambled around looking for some light or sign as to how to get out, cursing herself mentally for allowing herself to get lost. And all alone.

Whipping her head around she could make out a faint glow between the trees behind her. Thinking she had found an escape route she fought the rising panic and fatigue within and ran for the light.

She smiled as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the sudden blinding light. As it dimmed her face fell. She wasn't looking at the village. She hadn't found her escape route.

Though it wasn't the way the way back it was stunning. There was a glistening lake in the middle of the clearing she found herself in. It was a wide open space and looking up one could see the night sky, momentarily clouded.

It was beautiful. However no amount of beauty could tear Dawn from the sight that made her blood chill. For beneath the cloudy sky, standing in the middle of this beautiful clearing bent over the glistening lake was the shadowy figure. The same shadow she had sought out. The same shadow that was looking right at her.

Her curiosity left her. She no longer wanted to see behind the shadows. She didn't care that they had been starring at the statues. Now all she wanted was to be far away, back in her bed, with her friends nearby. Instead she was caught within their gaze, shrinking away, too scared to even scream.

The figure stood up. It was a boy, judging by his flat chest and slim figure. He had a full outline as well, was he strong? In the dim light he certainly appeared menacing. And startled? Dawn just stared. Frozen. Dazed. All willpower lost.

In a dream-like motion Dawn watched as the boy's shadow swelled and bulged. The shadows grew from behind him, and as they did he hunched over in pain. His grunts of pain pierced Dawn, making her feel weaker and faint. The bulbous masses took their forms. They angled themselves high and darkness seemed to fall like a waterfall from them.

In a final effort to tight the pain the boy roared towards the heavens, his arms stretched out and the shadowy forms spread wide and defined.

Consciousness began to fade, and Dawn felt herself collapse. Faint images danced before her eyes of an angel approaching her through the ever growing darkness.

And then the darkness consumed all.

* * *

**Lovely little cliffhanger there. I hope I won't have to leave it hanging for too long.**

**So, people, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Even if you didn't that's ok too. But please let me know what you think. Any little comment would be much appreciated, especially if it can help me improve. Please, review.**

**'Til next time :-D**


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